Brake beam



F. SCHAEFER BRAKE BEAM Filed April 4, 1947 Patented Feb. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES mm or ies 8 Claims.

This invention relates to railway brake beams, and more particularly to composite truss typ beams.

Railway brake beams of this character generally consist of a compression member on the ends of which brake heads are mounted, a laterally projecting strut at the center of the compression member, and a tension rod bent around the strut with its ends extending through the brake heads. Nuts screwed on the outer ends of the rod hold the heads on the compression member. The nuts are tightened far enough to hold a slight camber in the compression member. As the heads are held on the compression member only by the pull of the tension rod, it usually happens that after the beams have been in service for awhile the heads work loose. After play once develops, vibration of the beam causes the engaging surfaces of the heads and compression member to wear and increase that play. Also, the tension rod may stretch slightly, which will permit the heads to become loose on the ends of the compression member.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a brake beam of simple construction in which the brake heads are tightly clamped on the ends of the compression member independently of the pull of the tension rod on the heads.

In accordance with this invention the compression member of the beam has its opposite ends turned in; that is, turned toward the wheels with which the beam cooperates. These inturned ends are provided with openings through them, and the ends of the tension rod extend through these openings. The rod is provided with abutting means, either integral with it or mounted thereon, which either directly or indirectly engage the inner face of the inturned ends of the compression member. Brake heads at the opposite ends of the compression member are provided with sockets that receive the inturned ends of the compression member,- and each head has an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects. Suitable fastening keys or nuts are mounted on the projecting ends of the rods and serve to press the brake heads and the inturned ends of the compression member tightly together and against the abutting means on the rod. As a result, the brake heads and the adjoining ends of the compression member are clamped tightly together even if the rod is loose between the heads. Therefore, the tightness of the heads on the compression member does not depend on the pull of the tension rod nor upon the snugness of the fit of the compression member in the heads.

The invention is illustrated in the accompan-ying drawings in which 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a brake beam; Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section through one end .of the beam; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2; and Figs; 4 and 5 are views similar to Figs. 2 and 3, respectively, of a modification of this in vention.

Referring to the first three figures of the drawings, a truss type brake beam has a channelshape compression member 9 from the center of which the usual strut 2 extends inwardly toward the axle of the wheels with which the beam is intended to cooperate. The central part of atension rod 3 is curved around the inner end of the strut with the ends of the rods located adjacent the ends of the compression member.

A feature of this invention is that the brake heads 4, which are mounted on the ends of the compression member and tension rod, are tightly clamped to the compression member independently of the tension or pull of the rod on the heads. Accordingly, as shown in Fig. 2, each end or" the compression memberis bent inwardly at an angle that makes the inturned portion of its web 5 substantially perpendicular to the axis of the adjacent end of the tension rod, Each brake head is provided with .a socket l for receiving an end of the compression member, the end wall of the socket preferably lying flat against the inturned web of the compression member. The flanges 8 of the compression member bear against the upper and loweriwalls of the socket, This end wall and adjoining web are provided with aligned openings 9 and lil through which the end of the tension rod extends. Opening 9 in the compression member may be either an ordinary hole or a notch extending inwardly from the end of the web as shown in Fig. 3. The projecting end of the rod preferably is provided with screw threads on which is mounted a nut ll that bears against the brake head.

,In order to clamp the head and compression member together, the tension rod is provided with an integral enlargement or collar I2 that bears against the inner face of the inturned web of the compression member, With this construction the collar and portion of the rod extending through the brake head serve as a bolt which, with the nut, connects the head and compression member tightly together. It will be seen that the connection will remain tight even though the tension rod stretches. The opening through "the endiof,

the compression member may be either an ordi- V nary hole or a notch.

In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the tension rod I4, instead of being provided with an integral collar, has its threads I5 extended inwardly through the compression member IE to receive a second nut I! in the socket I of the brake head 4. This nut is prevented by a wall of the socket from turning on the rod. Nut ll bears against the inturned end of the compression member, while the outer nut H presses against the outer face of the brake head so that the head and compression member are clamped tightly together between the two nuts.

Another distinction in Figs. 4 and ,5 is that the end portions of the flanges l8 of the channel-like compression member are folded in against the inner surface of the inturned end portion of the web l9 so that the abutting member on the tension rod, whether collar or nut, engages these flanges instead of the web. The adjacent edges of the folded flanges may be provided with semicircular notches 29, as shown in Fig. 5, which together form a circular rod-receivin opening registering with openings 9 and it through the web and head.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and construction of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended'claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A brake beam comprising a compression member having inturned ends provided with openings therethrough, a tension rod having its ends extending through said openings, said rod being provided with abutting means engaging the inner faces of said inturned ends, brake heads at the opposite ends of the compression member provided with sockets receiving said inturned ends, each head having an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects, and fastening members mounted on the projecting ends of the rods and bearing against the outer faces of the brake heads to clamp the heads and the ends of the compression member tightly against said abutting means.

2. A brake beam comprising a compression member having inturned ends provided with openings therethrough, a tension rod having its ends extending through said openings, said rod being provided with integral collars engaging the inner faces of said inturned ends, brake heads at the opposite ends of the compression member provided with sockets receiving said inturned ends, each head having an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects, and fastening members mounted on the projecting ends of the rods and bearing against the outer faces of the brake heads to clamp the heads and the ends of the compression member tightly against said collars.

3. A brake beam comprising a compression member having inturned ends provided with openings therethrough, a tension rod having threaded ends extending through said openings, brake heads mounted on the inturned ends of the compression member, each head having an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects, and a pair of spaced nuts screwed on each end of the tension rod, each brake head and adjoining inturned end of the compression member being clamped tightly together between a pair of said nuts.

4. A brake beam comprising a compression member having inturned ends provided with openings therethrough, a tension rod having its ends extending through said openings, said rod being provided with integral collars engaging the inner faces of said inturned ends, brake heads mounted on the inturned ends of the compression member, each head having an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects, and nuts screwed on the projecting ends of the rods, whereby the brake heads and the adjoining ends of the compression member are clamped together between said nuts and collars.

5. A brake beam comprising a compression member having inturned ends provided with openings therethrough, a tension rod having its ends extending through said openings, the inner faces of said inturned ends lying in planes substantially perpendicular to the axis of the rod extending through the heads, said rod being provided with encircling means engaging said inner faces, brake heads at the opposite ends of the compression member provided with sockets receiving said inturned ends, each head having an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects, and fastening members mounted on the projecting ends of the rods and bearing against the outer faces of the brake heads to clamp the heads and the ends of the compression member tightly against said encircling means.

6. A brake beam comprising a channel-dike compression member having the end portions of its Web and flanges bent inwardly and provided with openings through said end portions of the web, a tension rod having its ends extending through said openings,said rod' being provided with abutting means engaging the inner surfaces of said inwardly bent web portions, brake heads at the opposite ends of the compression member provided with sockets receiving said ends,

each head having an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects, and fastening members mounted onthe projecting ends of the rods and bearing against the outer faces of the brake heads to clamp the heads and said inwardly bent web portions tightly against said abutting means.

'7. A brake beam comprising a channel-like compression member having the end portions of its web and flanges bent inwardly and provided with openings through said end portions of the web, the inwardly bent portions of the compression member flanges being folded against the inwardly bent web portions and provided with openings in line with said web openings, a tension rod having its ends extending through said openings, said rod being provided with abutting means engaging the inner surfaces of said folded flanges, brake heads at the opposite ends of the compression member provided with sockets receiving said ends, each head having an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects, and fastening members mounted on the projecting ends of the rods and bearing against the outer faces of the brake heads to clamp the heads and web portions and folded flanges tightly against said abutting means.

8. A brake beam comprising a compression member having inturned ends provided with openings therethrough, a tension rod having threaded ends extending through said openings, brake heads at the opposite ends of the compression member provided with sockets receiving said inturned ends, each head having an opening in it through which the adjacent end of the tension rod projects, and a pair of spaced nuts screwed on each end of the tension rod, each brake head and adjoining inturned end of the compression member being clamped tightly together between a pair of said nuts, and the inner nut of each pair engaging a wall of the surrounding socket to keep the nut from turning on the rod.

FREDERIC SCHAEFER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

5 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,036,052 Ziemss, Jr. Aug. 20, 1912 1,947,580 Mohun Feb. 20, 1934 1 2,116,594 Busch May 10, 1938 

